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Blohm
The Blohm & Voss BV 138 Seedrache (Sea Dragon, but nicknamed Der Fliegende Holzschuh ("flying clog",Nowarra 1997, original German title of the Schiffer book. from the side-view shape of its fuselage) was a World War II German trimotor flying boat that functioned as the Luftwaffe s main long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Design and development A total of 297 BV 138s were built between 1938 and 1943. The aircraft was unusually powered by three engines, with one mounted high above the centerline driving a four-blade propeller, and one on each wing driving three-blade propellers. The pre-production prototypes and the BV 138 A-01 to BV 138 A-06, were powered by various makes of engines ranging from 485–746 kW (650–1,000 hp). The first standardized version, BV 138 B-1, was powered by three 880 PS (868 hp, 647 kW) Junkers Jumo 205D aircraft diesel engines. Unusual were the aircraft's twin boom tail unit, and gun turrets at the bow and the stern of the fuselage, as well as behind the central engine. These features together produced the aircraft's ungainly appearance. The first of the 227 standard service variant, BV 138 C-1, began service in March 1941. Although various versions of the aircraft carried a variety of armament, the standard included two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons, one in a power-operated bow turret and one in a power-operated stern turret, up to three 7.92 mm MG 15 machine guns, and a 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine gun in the aft center engine nacelle. It could carry 500 kg (1,100 lb) of bombs or depth charges or, in place of these, up to 10 passengers. Several were later fitted with [[Hohentwiel (Radar)|FuG 200 Hohentwiel]] low-UHF band search radar for anti-shipping duties. Some were converted for minesweeper role. The BV 138 MS variant, with the "MS", signifying Minensuch (German for mine-clearing, literally mine-search), carried a degaussing device, a hoop with the same diameter as the length of the fuselage and field-generating equipment, instead of weapons. Variants ;Prototypes * developed under Hamburger Flugzeugbau designation * Ha 138 V1 (D-ARAK) – First flight on 15 July 1937 * Ha 138 V2 (D-AMOR) – First flight in August 1937 * Ha 138 V3''' – Construction abandoned due to redesign. ;Production * BV 138 A-01 to 06 – Operational testbeds * BV 138 A-1 – Flew reconnaissance during invasion of Norway * BV 138 B-0 – Officially entered service in October 1940 * BV 138 B-1 – Entered service in November 1940 ** BV 138 B-1/U1 * BV 138 C-1, also had minesweeper variant ** BV 138 C-1/U * BV 138 MS – Minesweeping version. Survivors No complete BV 138s remain in existence. However, the wreck of one aircraft, sunk after the war in a British air show, was raised from the seabed of the Øresund Sound in 2000, and is on display at the Danish Technical Museum in Helsingør. On 27 June 2012, two divers (Pascale Roibu and Iulian Rusu) found a Heinkel He 114 seaplane in Siutghiol Lake near Mamaia, Constanta, Romania. Recently near this Heinkel 114 the two divers also found pieces of a Blohm & Voss BV 138 seaplane. In June 2013, a vessel from the Norwegian Geological Survey filmed a Blohm & Voss BV 138 at a depth of 35 m in Porsangerfjorden, Norway, not far from the WW2 German seaplane harbour in Indre Billefjord.NRK Nordnytt 14 June 2013 Specifications (BV 138 C-1) See also *Ha 135 - *Ha 136 - *Ha 137 - *'BV 138' - *Ha 139 - *Ha 140 - *BV 141 *List of aircraft of World War II * List of military aircraft of Germany References Notes Bibliography * Green, William. Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume Five: Flying Boats. London: Macdonald & Co.(Publishers) Ltd., 5th impression 1972. ISBN 0-356-01449-5. * Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 4th impression 1979. ISBN 0-356-02382-6. * Ledwoch, Janusz. Bv 138 (Wydawnictwo Militaria 64) (in Polish). Warszaw, Poland: Wydawnictwo Militaria, 1998. ISBN 83-7219-015-1. * Nowarra, Heinz J. and Don Cox, (transl.) Blohm & Voss Bv 138 (Schiffer Military History). Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1997. ISBN 0-7643-0296-5. * Smith J. Richard and Anthony Kay. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1972 (3rd impression 1978). ISBN 0-370-00024-2. * Wagner, Ray and Nowarra, Heinz. German Combat Planes: A Comprehensive Survey and History of the Development of German Military Aircraft from 1914 to 1945. New York: Doubleday, 1971. External links * Article on a BV 138 which sank near Trondheim in Norway * Website dedicated to the BV 138 * Specs * German plane wrecks in Norway, WWII BV 138 Category:1930s German military reconnaissance aircraft Category:Flying boats Category:Trimotors Category:Twin-boom aircraft Category:High-wing aircraft Category:Diesel-engined aircraft